Two nights after Aaron Dell makes 37 saves, Martin Jones had 27 on Saturday to lead the San Jose Sharks past the New York Islanders at SAP Center

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) controls the puck during the first period against the New York Islanders in an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

SAN JOSE — According to Pete DeBoer and Logan Couture, it’s only natural that when Aaron Dell plays a good game, Martin Jones wants to follow with one of his own.

The numbers over the last two-plus seasons bear that out.

Saturday, two nights after Dell made 37 saves, Jones had 27 to lead the Sharks to a 2-1 overtime victory over the New York Islanders at SAP Center.

Couture scored his second straight overtime goal, as he one-timed a pass from Evander Kane past Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov at the 2:30 mark. Couture scored on a breakaway with 1:40 left in overtime on Thursday to give the Sharks a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Sharks have won eight of nine, and entering Sunday, at 12-11-1, were one point back of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. The Sharks play in Los Angeles against the Kings on Monday.

“The big thing is we want to keep pace,” Couture said. “We are right in it now after that horrendous start and have given ourselves the opportunity to collect more points.”

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Entering Saturday, Jones was 6-1-0 in his last seven starts with an .881 save percentage. Statistically, his performance against the Islanders was his second-best of the season, only behind the 32-save effort he had against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 13.

Both of those starts had something in common. They came right after Dell won a game.

Asked Saturday morning if he feels Jones feeds off Dell’s good performances, or can be pushed by them, DeBoer said, “I think it’s human nature when the other guy’s playing well.

“If you look at the history of our team with those two guys together, when Deller’s pushing him, I think they’re both better.”

Jones has usually played well in the first game after Dell earns a win.

In the 2017-18 season, in the first game after Dell recorded a victory, Jones was 6-3-2 with a .910 save percentage. Last season under those circumstances, Jones was 5-2-1 with a .912 save percentage.

And in three such games this year, Jones is now 2-1-0 with a .943 save percentage.

“I think they feed off each other,” Couture said. “They have a great relationship. They want to see each other have success in the nets. It’s natural. When your partner does well, you want to do well. They’ve both played back-to-back tremendous games.”

Just as Dell did Thursday, Jones had to come up with big stops at key times.

His most important save might have come in the second period.

With the game scoreless, Jones stopped a breakaway chance by Islanders forward Brock Nelson. Less than 20 seconds later, Marcus Sorensen scored off a nice pass from Mario Ferraro to give the Sharks the lead. Joe Thornton started the breakout with a pass to Ferraro.

“It’s a big save because we go down and score right after,” Jones said. “You need to come up with a couple of those a game to have a chance to win.”

Jones made 11 saves in the third period, six on the penalty kill. In all, he made 10 saves while the Sharks were down a man, as the Islanders went 0-for-6 on the power play.

Per statistician Darin Stephens, Jones has faced 111 shots on the penalty kill this season, tied for the most in the NHL with Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury. Jones’ .937 save pct on the kill is third-best in the league, right behind Fleury’s .946 percentage and Chicago’s Robin Lehner’s (.943).

Kane, Couture respond to big minutes: On 33 shifts Saturday, Kane played 23 minutes and 11 seconds, two days playing a season-high 24:25. Couture played 29 shifts, tied with Brent Burns for second-most on the team.

The Sharks once again started Saturday’s game with 11 forwards. Both Tomas Hertl (lower body) and Melker Karlsson (upper body) were injured and did not play. DeBoer dressed seven defensemen instead.

Really, the Sharks were down to 10 forwards after Lukas Radil was benched in the third period.

It’s fine for the short-term, no doubt, as double-shifting Kane or Timo Meier with some extra minutes on the fourth line helps solidify that part of the lineup. But, with Saturday’s game being the first of five in eight days, one wonders if all this extra ice time for the Sharks’ top forwards is sustainable for at least the next week or two.

“You’ve just got the make the smartest decision with the puck,” Couture said. “There’s times when you can make plays and there’s times when you’re at the end of your shift or there’s nothing through the middle where you just chip it in and make the safe play.

“I think we got away from that in the second and that’s why they had so many extended shifts in our end. They drew six penalties. I thought in the third we did a good job of managing the puck.”

Radil’s future: Radil’s time with the Sharks could be coming to an end. He did not see the ice again after his tripping penalty at the 7:52 mark of the second period. He had just seven shifts and finished with two hits and one blocked shot in 6:14 of ice time. It’s the third time in his last five games he’s had less than 10 shifts.

Tying a record: Saturday marked the Sharks’ 43rd consecutive win (7-0-0 this season) when they’ve allowed two goals or fewer. The 43 consecutive wins dating back to Mar. 20, 2018 ties the NHL record of 43 set by Pittsburgh from Feb. 21, 2012-Oct. 17, 2013.

Curtis Pashelka is the San Jose Sharks reporter for the Bay Area News Group. Prior to covering the Sharks, Curtis served as the high school sports editor for the East Bay. He also worked as a general assignment reporter covering motorsports, golf and college basketball, and as a backup writer on the A's, Giants and Warriors. He started at the organization in 2000 and spent close to eight years covering high school sports.